The Story of Damos
by Lorikemu
Summary: If you've seen Pokémon Movie 12: Arceus and the Jewel of Life, you'll definitely know what I'm writing about. You see, this is Damos's side of the story, how he discovered his power and how he was helped by Ash and co. and how, in turn, they helped him.
1. Damos Discovers his Power

Chapter 1  
Damos Discovers His Power

"Mummy?" asked the little boy one day while gleaning in the field. "Mummy, why do I hear the Magical Creatures speak to me?"  
"Oh, so you have it too, do you, Damos?" replied Mummy, who was also gleaning, and popped a grain in her mouth.  
"Have what?"  
"You can see into the hearts of the Magical Creatures, Damos. Just like me, your father and your siblings."  
"Oh." Damos cast down his eyes.  
"Listen and listen well, Damos. We're the only ones in Michina with that power. Arceus is the one who gave it to your great-great-great-grandparents for allowing it into their hearts and family. Why else would your father be the chief? And as the eldest, you will be the chief too. But before you do, there is an incantation I want you to learn off by heart. It goes like this:  
'Transcend the confines of time and space!' And before you speak the words, you have to clasp your hands together. As you speak the incantation, you must close your eyes. You will see the Magical Creature's heart. "  
"Cool! But, what does 'transcend' mean, Mummy? And what does 'confines' mean?"  
"Transcend means 'to rise above' or 'go over' and confines are like walls.  
"Oddish!" she called into the field. "Oddish, come over here!" Oddish soon came over, running as fast as its two short and stubby little legs could carry it.  
"Odd! Dish, dish!" it yelled from behind its owner.  
"Whoa! You frightened me, Oddish. Now, Damos has just realised his power and I'd like you to help him practice. Will you be so kind to help him?"  
"Oddish, Odd, Odd!"  
"Good. Now, Damos and Oddish, there's a quiet spot over by that tree, see where my finger's pointing?" Mummy pointed to a willow tree by the river.  
"Yeah?" Damos replied, following Mummy's finger.  
"That's where I practiced when I first realised it. It has a very high spiritual energy flow there."  
"Thanks, Mummy!" Damos and Oddish ran to the tree as fast as their legs could carry them.


	2. The Monolithic Asteroid

And so the young Damos practiced and practiced every day with Oddish, and some other Magical Creatures. When Damos had seen the change of 25 summers, his father died and left the running of Michina to him.  
In the fifth winter of Damos's reign over the people of Michina, something terrible happened. An asteroid hurtled toward the Earth and the point of impact was Michina. Meteorites hit the ground of Michina, drying up the beautiful river, destroying all the crops and trees and flowers and forcing the villagers to run for cover in a cave. But not Damos. No, Damos stayed behind, on a cliff top, watching the carnage come. He looked up and noticed the Mount Everest sized asteroid. He shook his head and stepped back.  
"If this keeps up, it's the end of the world!" he said to himself. Immediately after he said those words, ribbons of light penetrated the darkness and opened up into a portal, showing another dimension, another world. A second after, a huge Magical Creature appeared and hurtled straight toward the asteroid. From its body came forth sixteen coffin shaped plates, all different colours, and formed a spinning circle which made force field around it. It kept galloping and galloping and galloping.  
The Magical Creature hit the monolithic rock head on with a large bang. Energy rippled across the asteroid as it slowed right down. Light spread out from the impact zone until it was a bright white line across the dark black sky.  
Then, with another huge bang, the asteroid broke up into billions of smaller meteors, which came crashing down with tremendous force and leaving billions of craters. The Creature fell and lost all of the coffin shaped plates.  
Damos ran for his life to a cave just below the cliff face where he was standing and crouched and covered his head with his hands.


	3. Saving Arceus

When the meteors stopped falling, Damos got up from the cave and climbed carefully onto the cliff top — there was snow falling. On the next cliff over, Damos saw a group of Magical Creatures huddled around the larger Creature who had saved the whole town to keep it warm — it was unconscious and dying. Damos made the leap and landed on a ledge just a few metres below. He gasped when he saw who the Magical Creature was.  
It was Arceus! The Magical Creatures were huddling around it to keep it warm, because it was a freezing July night. But, although there was snow falling, Arceus and the Magical Creatures who were huddled around it were bathed in a pool of moonlight.  
"Arceus, please. Transcend the confines of time and space!" he clasped his hands and closed his eyes. When again he opened them, he was seeing all the Magical Creatures as they were, bar one. Arceus was completely black. Damos gave a little gasp. "Hmm." he said.  
A little beam of light came from Arceus's abdomen. It reached for a plate and the plate lit up. Another little gasp from Damos as he unclasped his hands. He looked to where the light was pointing.  
Damos ran in that direction, being careful when he had to climb at times. He slipped once, but got back up and continued climbing. He got to the top in just under a minute.  
He stood up. In a small little crater lay a plate. It looked as though it were made of ice. About the size of Damos's six year old daughter, it emitted a faint glow. He picked it up and as he did so, it shone with the same pattern he saw when he was connecting with the Pokémon. It was blue, with many, many milky swirls.  
Damos tucked the plate under his arm. He searched for another way back to Arceus. There! A little bridge connecting the two cliffs! 'But surely,' Damos thought, 'surely that wasn't there before?' Carefully, he crossed it and solemnly walked to Arceus. His breath came out in mist as he walked as carefully as he could while holding the delicate and heavy plate. When he was about a Pidgeot's wingspan from Arceus, the golden crown style ring around Arceus's abdomen lit up briefly and in response to the call, the plate lit up with the same swirls as before. It lifted itself out of Damos's grip, turning a full somersault in the air, before sinking down, smallest part first, into Arceus's abdomen, making a little 'ting' as it sank down completely.  
The ring lit up once more, and responding to the call were the rest of the plates. Damos counted fifteen plates, and fifteen 'tings'.  
Then, as bright as the Sun, Arceus's body began to glow as the Sun began to rise. It floated up into the sky and you could say it stood up. Arceus opened its beautiful emerald green and ruby red eyes and looked down upon the assembly gathered before it. It noticed Damos, who was looking up into its face with a bright smile.  
"Human," asked Arceus, "are you the one who saved me?"  
"Oh, no, Arceus," replied Damos, laying his hands out at his sides, "it was you who saved us."


	4. Setting Michina Free

A few weeks later, Damos was on the cliff where he saved Arceus. He was very worried. The store houses where they kept all their grain, and the grain itself, were ruined by the meteors. The villagers and Magical Creatures tried to stamp down hard on the craters to flatten the land, but to no avail.  
"If it keeps up like this," he thought aloud, "we won't survive the winter."  
"Damos," said a gentle voice behind him as Arceus floated down next to him, "you want to revitalise this land, don't you?"  
"Yes." Damos closed his eyes. When again he opened them, he saw Mcihina looking as it once was. The river was flowing again, the crops were growing once more, and the craters were gone. Then the vision faded.  
"How pitiful," muttered Arceus, moving to float in front of Damos. "All right, I shall lend you my strength." Out from its body, just like the night of the asteroid, the coffin shaped plates appeared.  
"These keep me alive. They're a part of my being. The power of Ground, Water and Grass," it said, taking a plate each from the circle to form a smaller one as it said the names, "and combined with this, the power of Electricity, they all meld together." Again taking the respective plate from the circle as it said this, the plate joined the others, but with the bottom of it pointing toward the middle of the circle. Blue electricity joined the four plates, creating a hemisphere. "And with the power of Dragon, they increase." The respective plate came over and joined the others, and ever so briefly, purple electricity connected the plates. They all combined to form a jewel, quite small in comparison to the formation earlier. It could fit into Damos's hand. The grass green glass was all swirled through, like the plates. But with the jewel, the swirls were moving, alive. "Use this Jewel of Life for the greater good, to make the land rich and fertile."  
Damos sighed, "The Jewel of Life." He cupped the Jewel in his hands, looking upon the living green glass.  
"But," Arceus jolted Damos out of his thoughts, as it pulled the remaining eleven plates back into its body, "without that Jewel, my life is diminished."  
Damos gasped, his eyes wide.  
"Damos — I am trusting you… trusting you with my life."  
"Arceus, I thank you. You have my word. I will return it back to you!"  
Damos lifted the Jewel in one hand, high above his head. From the Jewel flowed energy, Arceus's magnificent strength. Great giant waves spread out over the wasteland. Soon after the second wave, the crops grew back. Immediately after the third, fourth and fifth waves, the river was wet and filled with water once again, the trees grew back, strong and tall, and the grass and flowers joined ranks, forming beautiful meadows.

"Mr Damos!" called a harvester as Damos was walking by. "It looks like we'll be able to harvest this year too!"  
"That's right, we shall all work together!"


	5. Ada Meets Arceus

"Where are we going, Daddy?" asked the little girl as she hopped on her father's back.  
"There's someone I want you to meet, Ada," Damos replied.  
"Who do you want me to meet, Daddy?"  
"You'll see."  
By the time the two of them reached the place, Ada was fast asleep. Damos put her down in the meadow, then walked away. He climbed the column to the cliff, then called Arceus.  
"Why do you need me, my friend?" Arceus asked.  
"I left my daughter, Ada, down the bottom. I really want her to meet you, Arceus. I want her to remember the Magical Creature who saved this world for itself. To love you for you. To know you as a good friend, and not just as some distant deity. To call upon you whenever she wishes, not just when she is desperate. Could you please allow her into your heart for the duration of your stay here?"  
"I will do anything you ask, especially for this. Teach all your children to know me, Damos. But only one child at a time."  
"Of course. May I hop on your back so I can get down from here to show Ada to you?"  
Arceus sighed and smiled. "Get on."  
Damos got on and Arceus glided down the column gently. It floated above the meadow where Damos had left Ada before. "There she is!" he called, "Down by the willow."  
Arceus flew down to the willow where Ada was fast asleep. It landed gently and Damos jumped off. He walked over to Ada, knelt down beside her, and gently shook her awake.  
"What is it, Daddy?" asked a very sleepy Ada as she rubbed her sleep filled eyes. Damos picked her up. She opened her eyes wide when she saw the huge Magical Creature standing before them. Ada squealed and got out of her father's grip, falling down onto the soft, green grass and running to his leg. She peeped out for just a moment.  
"What's wrong, Ada?" asked Damos, picking her up again.  
"It's HUGE, Daddy! And besides, it's a stranger! You and Mummy always said to—"  
"Never talk to strangers. But you see, Ada, this one is different. This is the Magical Creature who saved the whole town! And it is also my friend. So, therefore, it is not a stranger." Damos set her down gently on the grass and kneeled in front of her. "Do you think you could be brave enough to pat it? I'm sure it would let you."  
"Can you help me do it, Daddy?"  
"Of course."  
Arceus kneeled down on the ground, to allow Ada and Damos to come forward. Ada pushed her hand forward and let go of Damos. She walked closer and closer. Suddenly, she pulled her hand away. She steeled herself again, giving a little nod and a 'hm'. She put her hand out again. Slowly, ever so slowly, she walked out again.  
Ada gasped. She'd done it! She'd touched Arceus! "Hooray!" she squealed and proceeded to jumping up and down on the spot.  
"Congratulations, Ada!" cried Arceus.  
"Yes, Ada, you did it! I'm so proud of you!" Damos lifted his daughter and spun her around.  
"Would you like a ride, Ada?" Arceus asked.  
"Yes please! But not too high, please. I'm not good with heights…"


	6. Damos and Marcus

"Soon, I'll be able to return the Jewel of Life," Damos said, as he looked down upon the townspeople's handiwork. Two years had passed and the whole town looked amazing. On the rock next to him was his basket of barley. The grain that they had sown back in the summer had produced a thousand fold of what was planted. 'This is the best harvest that we've had in years!' he had thought when he cut the heads.  
"I understand," Arceus replied. "I will wait until the time when the Moon next covers the Sun."  
"Thank you. Until then I will continue revitalising the land."  
Arceus nodded and flew off back to his own dimension. Only a circle of ribbons of light were left as indications that Arceus had indeed been to Michina.

In the seventh year of Damos's reign over Michina, he decided to build a shrine, dedicated to Arceus. On the first day of the summer, Damos asked the village if they could spare some time to help with building it while the wheat, barley, oats and corn was growing.  
Marcus, an underling of Damos's, was taking down the amount of men and Magical Creatures who were willing to spare some time.  
"Wow, Damos," he said when his master was near later in the evening, "this is amazing! Half the village wants to help — even your wife and daughter!"  
"Wait, Sabina and Ada?"  
"Yes, Sir."  
'This is peculiar,' he thought. Indeed, this was peculiar. At 25 springs old, Sabina was pregnant again, with their second child, due in the autumn. And Ada was 8 winters old. "Let me see that parchment, Marcus." He flicked his eyes toward two familiar signatures. "Hmm… oh!" he gasped. "These signatures do not belong to my wife or my daughter! I knew Sabina wouldn't help, at least, not while our child's inside her and Ada doesn't even know her letters yet!" He looked closer at the other signatures on the parchment. "Not only that, but you forged every single one of these signatures! You tricked me!" He grabbed Marcus by the collar of his tunic and threw him down on the table, destroying it.  
Damos turned his back on the twig thin blood-red haired man. "You're of no more use to me, Marcus. Get out of here."  
"But — " Marcus began.  
"Leave me. Now!"  
"One day, Damos, you'll regret this… one day, very, very soon."


	7. Ada Asks a Favour

"Daddy, what's wrong?" asked Ada when Damos walked in through the gate. She could sense that all was not right with her father. Lately, he'd been tense. Mummy said that the running of Michina had finally caught up with him. Ada didn't think that was it.  
"Hmm?" he asked, jolted out of his thoughts.  
Ada repeated her question. "And don't say nothing's wrong, Daddy. I can tell."  
"Ada, do you remember when I asked for help from the village to build the shrine?"  
"Yes." Ada wasn't sure where this was going.  
"Well, one of the men who worked for me, Marcus, forged all the signatures, so I-I kicked him out of Michina and he said that I'll regret doing that. Very, very soon. I'm afraid for our lives." He grabbed a stick from the oak tree and began drawing in the dirt.  
"You shouldn't be, Daddy. I can defend myself."  
"Yes, but what about Mummy? And your unborn sibling?"  
"I hadn't thought of that…"  
"I'm afraid for Mummy most of all."  
"Daddy, I think that you should be more afraid for Arceus and yourself than for me or Mummy."  
"Why?"  
"I've got a bad feeling about this…"

Later that afternoon, Ada went to play with the children of the village. She found her friends, Lucy and David, who were twins, and Aaron.  
As evening rolled by, the four friends honoured their daily ritual of climbing up the rowan tree to watch the sunset.  
"Are you okay, Ada?" asked Lucy.  
"Yeah, you seem a little… weird," added David.  
"And don't say you're fine, either," added Aaron.  
Ada told her friends what her Daddy had told her about Marcus. "And now Daddy's afraid for our lives. I'm more afraid for Arceus and Daddy than for me, Mummy and the baby."  
"What's Arceus?" Lucy asked.  
"Remember the asteroid?" answered Ada.  
"Yeah?" replied the other friends.  
"Arceus is the Magical Creature who saved the town, but it nearly died when the rock exploded and Daddy saved it. Guys, can I ask you a favour?"  
"Sure!" said Lucy  
"We're here for you, Ada," added David.  
"Wha'd'ya need?" asked Aaron.  
"Remember what I told you about Daddy?"  
"Yep," they all said at once.  
"Well, Marcus — that's one of the men who was taking down names that day — he forged all the signatures that were on the parchment. Turns out that the villagers would rather cultivate the land than build something for the saviour of Michina." Ada sighed and stared out toward the giant, bright egg yolk on the horizon. "Can you ask your families to help Daddy, please? It would mean so much to us all if they could."  
"Have we been friends since we were babies?" asked David, putting his hand out to Ada.  
"And are we friends now?" added Lucy, placing her hand on top of his.  
"So, will we be friends forever?" added Aaron as he followed suit.  
"What can one small kid do?" asked Ada, as she put her hand on Aiden's.  
"EVERYTHING!" they yelled. Several Beautifly flew out of the tree and scattered them with bright shining powder.  
"Thank you so much!"


	8. The Biggest Turnout Ever Seen

That evening, more than three quarters of the village could be seen outside of Damos's house. They were shouting things like — "We're sorry for not wanting to help!" and — "Please forgive us, Mr Damos!" and — "We failed you before, but we won't fail you again!"  
"Ada," asked Damos, standing in front of her with his hands on his hips.  
"Yes, Daddy?" replied Ada, looking down at her feet.  
"Can you tell me why nearly all the villagers and Magical Creatures are right outside our house?"  
"Well, Daddy, you see — I asked my friends to ask their families to help with that shrine you wanted to build so badly and — I'm sorry if this is too many!" Ada burst into tears.  
"Oh, Ada, don't cry." Damos picked his daughter up and sat her on his hip. "I am so proud of you! You did this… for me?"  
"Uh huh."  
"Thank you so much! This is amazing! Get your friends and help me tally up all these people. I've never seen such a turnout since… I don't know when! I love you Ada. Never forget that. If there is one thing I want you to remember, it's this — I will always love you."  
"I love you too, Daddy."  
Ada managed to find her friends in the crowd and brought them back to the house.  
"Thanks, you guys."  
"Don't mention it," answered Lucy. They hugged.  
"EEEWWW!" cried Aiden.  
"Do you ALWAYS have to do that?" added David.  
The girls got out of their embrace. "Okay, let's get down to business. Did you bring a tablet and stylus?"  
"Here," answered David, getting a sack of his back. "There's sixteen for each of us, and they're already melted, ready for tallying."  
"Wow, that's… 64! That must'a been heavy!"  
"Yeah, but… I'd do anything for you, Ada! Oh, and Arceus of course!"  
"Okay, David, now YOU'RE the one who's grossing us out," commented Lucy.  
Ada went round to the back to grab three more sacks and four straight sticks for ruling up a table. She ran back to her friends who were busy pulling tablets and styluses out of the big sack. Ada gave a sack to Lucy and Aaron and they started piling the tablets into the sacks. They ran around to the front and gave the thumbs up to Damos.  
"Okay everyone!" he yelled above the hubbub. "The men are to line up at Aaron, the male Magical Creatures to David, the women to Lucy and the female Magical Creatures to Ada! Go, go, go!"  
"Damos, dear, tell me what's going on?" called a voice from inside the house. Waddling out of the front door on swollen ankles came Ada's mother, Sabina, who was heavy with child.  
"Sabina, you should be resting." Damos hurried to his wife and picked her up off her feet, taking her back inside.  
"I won't rest until you tell me why nearly the whole village is out here!"  
Damos told Sabina what Ada had told him.  
"Damos, listen to me. We're not out of the woods yet. This child that is growing inside me has sent me a vision. I saw Arceus. I saw you. I saw Marcus. But what unnerved me most of all was the fact that I saw two Jewels of Life — one original, one forgery. When I saw you in this vision, your eyes were glazed, like the eyes of those who had been hypnotised. You were ordering harm against Arceus!"  
"No. No, that can't be right. Are you sure?" Damos grabbed his wife's shoulders.  
"Damos, remember when I had that vision when Ada was inside me?"  
"Yes?" he let go and sat them both down on the bed of hay, cotton fluff and lavender.  
"I saw that in a few years time, Arceus would come and save us. And it did. I saw that it would nearly die. And it did. I saw that you would save it. And you did."  
"But it happened when Ada was six."  
"Mm. I have the feeling that when this child is six, my vision will come true. Ada will be fourteen when it'll happen. She can help you in the shrine when Arceus is here again. Damos, I-I'm sorry. I wish—"  
But she never got to finish her sentence, for bounding into the room came Ada and her friends.  
"Mummy, Daddy, we tallied them up and everyone wants to help!"  
"Wonderful news, Ada! Thank you so much!"


	9. Marcus is Back

Damos himself cut the first stone from the rock. 'Marble,' he thought to himself, 'is the perfect type of stone to build this shrine.' The marble was the same colour as Arceus's silver body. When it was finished, he and his family would move there, so as to make the climb less difficult; the site was where Arceus had fallen from the sky after saving the town two years before.  
On the blueprints for the shrine, Damos had designed a grand entrance hall that looked almost like the Roman Colosseum. There was also to be a kitchen and a grand dining room. He also designed several tunnels for the Magical Creatures that would live there.  
All was going well, until the 'evil one', as Ada called him, came back. Marcus was almost unrecognisable when he showed up at Damos's house. His once spiky, blood red hair was limp and dirty. His reddish eyes were dull but behind the dullness was an evil glimmer. His tanned complexion had turned sallow and wrinkles were beginning to form.  
He'd knocked at the door several times. Ada hurried to the door and opened it. She looked up at Marcus's tall, lanky, thin figure. She saw the evil glint in his eyes and opened her mouth to scream. He bent down on his knee to cover her mouth — Ada was only 1.25 metres tall.  
"Bronzor, come here," he whispered. Bronzor came. He was a blue disc with six knobs at equal points around the thin side. His two eyes were yellow and he didn't really have a nose or mouth to speak of. "Use Hypnosis," Marcus added.  
Ada dodged the hypnotic ray and bit Marcus's finger. He yelled with pain and hit Bronzor, sending him flying down to the end of the hall.  
"Daddy!" she screamed, running to Damos. "Daddy, the evil one's back!"  
"Marcus," Damos whispered to himself. He grabbed a knife from the table and ran to the door, but when he saw the man cowering in the doorway, he stopped short. "Ada," he called. "Who is this man?"  
"It's Mr. Marcus, Daddy!" came the reply. "The one who forged all the signatures!"  
"This man looks nothing like Marcus!"  
"Look at his eyes!"  
'Oh, shoot,' thought Marcus. "Bronzor, use Hypnosis, and aim this time!" Marcus commanded.  
"There's nothing besides dull red emptiness."  
"Zor, zor, zor, zor," Bronzor said as it sent out the rays.  
"There's nothing besides dull red emptiness," Damos answered, as his eyes started to glaze over.  
"You will let me in your house to stay."  
"Zor, zor, zor, zor."  
"I will let you in my house to stay."  
Marcus clicked his fingers. Damos shook his head.  
"What are you doing outside? Come in, come in!"  
Ada ran to her father. "What are you doing?" she cried. "He's evil! He wants to destroy Arceus! He wants to destroy you! He wants the Jewel for himself!"  
"Stay out of this, Ada!"  
"B-b-b-but Daddy!"  
"No 'buts', Ada! Now go to the corner!"  
"But—"  
"NOW!" Damos roared.  
Ada's eyes welled up with tears as she looked into her father's lustreless ones. "What happened to you?" With that question still hanging in the air, she ran to her parents' room.


	10. Secrets

"Mummy, Mummy," whispered Ada, gently shaking Sabina, "Mummy, Daddy's gone mad!"  
Sabina's eyes fluttered open. Slowly registering what Ada said, she started to sit up.  
"Oh, no," she said. "Ada, were his eyes not quite right?"  
"They're normally blue and shiny, but they were glassy and murky. And he was really mean to me! He wouldn't listen to a word I said…"  
"Stay here, Ada. To keep you safe, I'm going to tell you what I told Daddy. You see, the baby has sent me a vision…" Sabina told her daughter the full story of what happened before she was born and of both visions.  
"… and I fear it's already started."  
"Mummy, what do we do?"  
"We need to pretend that everything is fine. Daddy can't know that we know what we know. It's going to be very dangerous for us during the next few years. Ada, do you know when the moon will cover the sun next?"  
"No…"  
"Judging from the timing of my visions, I think it would be another six years."  
"Why do you need to know?"  
"Because that is when Arceus will come." The statement hung in the air like a bad smell that refuses to dissipate.  
"So that is six years of pretending! But the more we do nothing about this, the more danger Arceus will be in! Pretending won't be enough to save Arceus and Daddy!"  
"When Arceus comes, it will be hurt. But if we don't pretend, we will also be hurt, as will your younger sibling. Ada, listen to me. This is only just the beginning. When the shrine is built and finished and we're living there, you are going to work there. It's the only way I know you'll be safe."  
So the two of them pretended. Pretended that there was a distant relative staying with them for goodness knows how long. Pretended this to their friends. Pretended this to their family. Thankfully Ada could tell someone.  
The more Ada thought about who to tell, the more it became apparent that she should try contacting Arceus.  
'Arceus, please, we need you,' she called, after speaking the incantation. 'It's been two years. I need to talk with you.'  
'Ada, what's wrong?' it answered.  
'Daddy's been hypnotised. By a man named Marcus. Marcus wants the Jewel for himself!'  
'How do you know about the Jewel of Life, Ada?'  
'I saw Daddy use it one night. The Jewel lit up and it was brighter than the moon!'  
'Ada, let me ask you a serious question. What do you believe about the Jewel?'  
Ada thought about this for a moment. 'I guess I believe that you got us started again by giving it to us. That's it.'  
'That's a good answer. Thank you.'  
'That's alright.' Ada severed the connection.


	11. Autumn

Autumn came and went without a hitch. But for Damos's family, she left a gift. The gift of a son for Damos and Sabina, and the gift of a brother for Ada. Marcus was still living in their house and showed no signs of leaving. He was sent away to work in the cornfield when the boy decided 'yep, time for me to live'. Damos became more like his normal self when he left. The midwife, who happened to be David and Lucy's mother, was sent for with Chansey and Rapidash. Rapidash meant 'come quick' and Chansey meant 'midwife — the baby's coming.'  
While Sabina was painfully welcoming her son into the world, Ada explored the little house. She looked in the kitchen and bathroom and found "Nothing exciting." She then looked in Damos's study. There was a table made of spruce where Damos kept his most precious material possession — the Jewel of Life. It was kept in a closed metal lotus flower. When the button was pressed, it would open and show itself, like a butterfly coming from its chrysalis. Next to the door was a decorated staff. When Damos took his little family travelling, he would put the Jewel in the staff. If he wanted to keep it safe with him, he would press the button and it would open like a flower.  
Ada had grown a bit since Marcus came, so she was able to lift the metal lotus from the table and put it on the ground next to her. She pressed the button. 'Wow,' she thought when it was fully open. 'It's beautiful!' She picked the Jewel up from the holder and held it in her hand. She held the cold green ball in her cupped hands and she felt energy rippling through her body.  
Damos was so lucky to have been given the Jewel. Now he has succumbed to Marcus's desire to keep it. Ada shuddered to think that Arceus could die if it came back. And as creator of the known universe, everything and everyone would die. It had already given up a part of itself to help Damos and the villagers. What would it take to give that part back?  
Suddenly, Ada heard a baby's cry. She quickly put the Jewel back in the lotus and closed it up. She carefully put the Jewel back on the table. She checked that the coast was clear, then went out into the hallway. Following the cry, Ada made her way to the bedroom where Sabina had just given birth.  
"Mummy!" Ada cried. She ran to her mother, who was holding what looked like a little bundle of cloth at her breast. The little boy was sucking away, oblivious to his older sister and father. "It's so tiny! Does it have a name yet? Did it hurt? Will I get used to having a sibling? How long was it in your tummy?"  
"Whoa, whoa, Ada, slow down! To answer all your questions, no, yes, yes, and about nine months."  
"We think you should choose his name, Ada."  
"Really?"  
"You've been such a big help during the past months. I can't think of a better reward."  
"Well, then…" Ada thought about it for a minute. "I choose Damian! I heard it means 'divine power' and if he has the connection gift, it's the perfect name!" She turned to her little brother. "Hi, Damian, nice to meet you. I'm Ada. I'm your big sister!"  
"Would you like to hold him, Ada?"  
"Oh, yes please!"  
"Now, put your arms the way I've got at the moment. Which hand would you like his head in?"  
"My right hand, please."  
"There you go." Sabina carefully placed her newborn son into his sister's arms. He looked up into his sister's blue eyes with curious blue eyes. Ada screwed up her face and scrunched up her nose. She smiled an ear to ear grin. She tickled his nose. Little Damian laughed. It was a sweet, beautiful and innocent sound.  
"I wish I could hear that more often."  
"Pi, pi!" came a voice from the window. Ada looked.  
"Isn't that a Pichu?"


	12. Pichu, a Discovery and a Grand Opening

Ada gave her brother back to Sabina and moved toward the window. "It's a Pichu, Daddy!" she exclaimed. "Hi, Pichu."  
"Pichu, chu," it said sadly.  
"Transcend the confines of time and space," father and daughter said, hand in hand, with eyes closed. They were suddenly surrounded by blue emptiness. Magical swirls spread out from them.  
'What's wrong, Pichu?' Ada asked.  
'Mama Pikachu and Papa Raichu are dead!' it answered. Tears began to roll down the Magical Creature's cheeks. 'I saw it happen! The evil man with red hair stabbed them with a scythe!'  
Ada severed the connection. "Don't cry, Pichu! We'll look after you!" She picked it up off the windowsill and held it in her arms like she held her younger brother.  
"Pi, pi, pichu?" It looked up into Ada's eyes and saw hope, concern and joy.  
"Of course!" added Damos. "What's ours is yours. And who is this 'evil man with red hair'?"  
Ada went to Sabina with a 'do we tell?' sort of look on her face. They exchanged nods.  
"Daddy, the evil man with red hair was Marcus, the very same man who's staying with us!"  
"Is this true, Ada? Sabina, please tell me it isn't…" In his heart, however, Damos knew.  
"Damos, I'm terribly sorry, but… why tell you what you already know?"  
There was a terribly long pause. "I can't stay. Not now. But I will be back soon, I promise." Without another word, Damos left.  
"Daddy, please don't kill him! You'd be killing a guest if you do. And you'd stain yourself terribly!"  
"I won't. I won't let him come here again!"  
So the little family's worries were only just beginning.

The shrine was completed in the tenth year of Damos's reign over Michina. Little Damian saw the change of three autumns exactly on the day it was opened. They were all in their best garments. Ada wore a gown for the first time in her life. It was a beautiful, deep blue, the same colour as her eyes, with elbow length sleeves and a low neckline. Her brown hair was put up in a tight knot with little ringlets framing her face.  
Sabina wore a long green skirt with a blue elbow length sleeved top. The combination made her look like where the land meets the sky. She kept her hair loose, so it flowed down her back in bouncy blonde waves.  
Ada was happy. Marcus had moved out and they found a new member of the family in Pichu. In fact, she was riding on Damos's shoulder. The two had gotten really close. Sometimes if Damos had slept in, Pichu would use Thunderbolt on him and that would wake Sabina also. "I was having such a nice dream, too," she'd say after recovering from the extra electricity in her body.  
Little Damian was enjoying himself today. He had never seen so many people in the one place. The three children — Ada, Damian and Pichu — would play around all day, every day.  
Strangely, Ada was grateful to Marcus. If it weren't for Marcus, they would never have met Pichu. Their lives would also have been very boring if he hadn't shown up three years ago.  
She snapped her head toward the stage. "Look, Damian!" she said taking her brother out of her mother's arms and into her own, "Daddy's about to speak."  
"Thank you all for coming today," he said to the assembly. "A special thanks to my daughter and her friends for being able to make this happen. If it weren't for Ada, Lucy, David and Aaron, this temple would never have begun." Ada swelled with pride. "So I think the best reward for these four children is to let them cut the ribbon together! Come on up, don't be shy!" The applause was deafening.  
Ada suddenly wished the ground would swallow her up. Shaking with nerves, she gave Damian back to Sabina and walked to the stairs. She waited for Lucy, David and Aaron to come toward her. They came after a few seconds. Holding each other's hands, they climbed the stairs one by one. When they reached the top, Damos gave Ada a small dagger with a rather long hilt. "You had this specially made, Dad, didn't you?" she asked.  
"Well, yes. I never forgot that moment when the four of you came to my rescue when you asked the people of Michina to help out. What I said was true. If it weren't for you, well, we wouldn't be here right now. Aaron, Lucy and David," he said, turning to the friends, "hold the dagger with Ada when she cuts the ribbon."  
"Yes Sir!" The four friends walked forward to the bright red and gold ribbon. Ada held the dagger in front of her.  
"Have we been friends since we were babies?" asked Ada.  
"And are we friends now?" asked David, placing his hand on the hilt.  
"So, will we be friends forever?" asked Lucy, placing her hand on the hilt.  
"What can one small kid do?" added Aaron putting his hand on the hilt also. They held it high above Ada's head.  
"EVERYTHING!" they yelled. The four friends swung the dagger down onto the ribbon. The two pieces severed and fell. They turned to the crowd and a great cheer rose up. Ada was deaf to all sound. She closed her eyes and saw Arceus as though it were right in front of her. Blue was all around her. Swirls surrounded her.  
'Thank you, Ada,' the Magical Creature said. 'I will let your friends see me like this just this once.'  
'Thank you, Arceus,' Ada replied. She looked to her left. Lucy was there. Ada looked to her right. David and Aaron were there.  
'Umm, Ada, what's going on?' David asked.  
'This is what she sees when she is connecting with the Magical Creatures!' answered Lucy. Then, unsure of herself, she added, 'Right?'  
'Yes, this is what I see.'  
'Argh!' screamed Aaron. 'Who's that?' He pointed at Arceus.  
'I am the one for whom this temple was made!' Red swirls started to come out from Arceus.  
'Arceus, please, calm down. He meant no harm! Aaron has never seen you before.' Ada ran up to Arceus and pressed her hand onto his big chest. 'Arceus!' The red swirls gave way to blue and gold.  
'Ada, thank you. I apologise for my outburst.'  
'I'm sorry, Arceus,' Aaron sat down, feeling terrible.  
'Everyone, listen. We're not out of the woods yet. Before he was born, Damian sent my mother a vision. Mum said she saw Dad, you, and Marcus. But what really disturbed me was that Dad's eyes had glazed over, like he had been hypnotised. And there were two Jewels of Life — an original and a forgery. Dad was ordering harm against you, Arceus!'  
'It can't be…'  
'I'm afraid it's true. Mum said that I sent her a vision too, before I was born. She saw that you would come. You did. She saw that you would nearly die. You did. She saw that Dad would save you. He did. It happened when I was six winters old. So we have another three years. That's three years to get rid of Marcus permanently. Three years to make sure my Dad doesn't do his worst. Three years to make sure you get the Jewel back.'  
'Ada, listen, you don't have to do this on your own.'  
'Thanks, Lucy.'  
'Ada, I'm sorry, but the connection is becoming weaker by the second. Talk to me again soon.'  
'Arceus, wait!' But it was too late. The four friends were standing in front of a cheering crowd. Damos had gone down from the stage to find Sabina and Damian. He brought them up. "Ada, Lucy, Aaron and David, come in and be the first ones to take a look at the temple!"


End file.
